Drag Race Hall Of Famer Trixie Mattel is going on tour, and we have all the details
Aux Features Music
Trixie Mattel, the RuPaul’s Drag Race all-star with a penchant for comedy and the larger than life aesthetic, has no problem drawing a large crowd. Armed with blade-sharp wit and a cotton candy pink guitar, the season seven alum has been playing stages big (like traversing all over the U.K. for her Skinny Legend comedy tour) and small (specifically, the bathroom at the Funny Or Die offices for an intimate In The Can concert) since competing for, and eventually winning, the illustrious Drag Superstar crown. Now, the doll-faced drag performer is hitting the road again with an even bigger, newly announced North American tour titled Trixie Mattel: Grown Up. Playing 29 dates, the new tour is not only another opportunity to show off her comedic chops, but also more of her musicianship as she travels with a full band for the first time.
“I grew up playing guitar in a tree in the woods, alone,” Mattel tells The A.V. Club during a quick phone call. “Besides my albums and a few one-off shows, I’ve never toured with a band. I’m very excited!” And the band will certainly be put to work: Unlike previous tours that leaned heavily on her comedy, Mattel promises more of a “50/50 split” between her popular stand-up material and her music, which has endured its own evolution. Her single “Yellow Cloud,” for instance, is evidence of a more robust, beachy rock soundscape than her previously stripped acoustic twang. “My new record that I’m writing sounds a little more ‘60s and plugged in, a little more like band music,” Mattel explains. “So for me to bring some of the music to life, I wanted to bring in some extra help.”
Tunes and chuckles aside, Trixie Mattel is a drag artist at her core—a fact that’ll play none too subtly during her Grown Up run, according to what she tells us: “I’m really outdoing myself. I am doing more wigs and more costume changes than probably any singles drag queen has done on tour. I want [the audience] to leave shook. I want them to be like, ‘Was that five costume changes in the opening number?’ I’ve written some really cool music for this tour along with some really good jokes and I’m like, let’s do it. 30 fucking costumes. Why not?” And if that sounds like a lot, consider Mattel’s perspective: “I have a huge audience, and they’re loyal. Most people in the audience have seen every one of my tours. So when I make these tours, I’m thinking about people who are coming to see me for the fifth time, which is why this tour has a band and costume changes. Let’s still catch these loyal people off-guard. Let’s still snatch their wigs.”
Trixie Mattel: Grown Up is the culmination of a career that has largely been built in the public eye, from the occasional in-competition bumps to becoming a globe-trotting headliner. Audiences will get to witness drag on another, more personal level. “This career has forced me to grow up in a hurry,” Mattel said. “When I did Drag Race, I was 24. Now I’m 30. Over six years, all this falls in your lap and you have to make it into everything. You have to tap it, pull it, build it. A thousand Lego pieces are dropped in your lap and you have to build the Death Star, and there’s no instructions! I’m very proud of what I’ve done.”
Tickets for Trixie Mattel: Grown Up go on pre-sale here Wednesday, October 23, before the general sale on Friday, October 25. Check out the tour dates below.
Trixie Mattel: Grown Up North American Tour
February 5 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre
February 6 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
February 7 – San Francisco, CA – Regency Ballroom
February 9 – Boulder, CA – Boulder Theater
February 11- Kansas City, KS – The Truman
February 13 – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
February 14 – Cleveland, OH – The Agora
February 15 – Columbus, OH – Express Live
February 16 – Minneapolis, MN – Pantages Theatre
February 18 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom
February 19 – Chicago, IL – Park West
February 21 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
February 22 – Toronto, CA – Danforth Music Hall
February 23 – Albany, NY – The Egg
February 25 – Portland, ME – State Theatre
February 26 – Boston, MA – Royale
February 28 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
February 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Temple Performing Arts Center – Lew Klein Hall
March 1 – Washington DC – Lincoln Theatre
March 3 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Broward Center for the Performing Arts – Amaturo Theater
March 4 – Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live
March 6 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
March 7 – New Orleans , LA – Civic Theatre
March 8 – Houston, TX – Lillie and Roy Cullen Theater
March 10 – Austin,TX – The Paramount Theatre
March 11 – Dallas, TX – Bomb Factory
March 13 – Phoenix, AZ – Orpheum Theatre
March 14 – Los Angeles, CA – The Novo
March 15 – San Diego, CA – The Lyceum
2 Comments
“Yellow Card”? Dont you mean “Yellow Cloud”?
I misread the headline, thought I was on Jalopnik and just assumed that Trixie Mattel in the Barbie Dream Funny Car was just John Force living his truth.There has got to be a way to unite the two forms of drag competitions and it’s going to be TV gold.